Germany’s RWE and Greece’s PPC electric utilities have signed today an agreement to start in spring the construction of 210 MW of new solar pv capacity at a former lignite mine in northern Greece. This is the first stage for the implementation of a 2 GW solar pipeline in the country that the two companies have been partnering on since 2019.

Greece’s Public Power Corp. (PPC) has secured €102.4 million ($111 million) of financing, with at least €28.5 million coming from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The funds will support the construction of 230 MW of PV capacity in Ptolemaida, which is Greece’s coal mining region.

Israel’s market for behind-the-meter energy storage projects could grow significantly this year, due to new regulations and plans to commission new solar-plus-storage installations that were tendered a few years ago.

Israel’s scarce land resources and lack of interconnections to neighboring countries have driven the rise of rooftop solar. Now a number of recent policy changes, mainly due to electricity reforms, are set to reinforce the decentralization trend, reports Ilias Tsagas.

Amazon Web Services has inaugurated a pilot project to turn the Greek island of Naxos into a “smart island.” A number of other companies, including Volkswagen, are also running smart island pilots in the Aegean Sea.

An Inter-ministerial committee of the Greek government last week labeled a photovoltaic project, combining lithium batteries and an electrolyzer, a strategic investment meaning it can take advantage of fast licensing processes.  

Greece awarded 538.4 MW of capacity in its most recent renewables tender last week. This is almost half of the 1 GW renewables capacity that the country planned to award in the auction round.

The Cypriot cabinet has approved a proposal by the energy minister to extend the country’s subsidy scheme for net metering and energy-efficiency measures, adding €40 million of funding ($39.8 million) to the program.

Greece’s Public Power Corp. (PPC) Renewables, the green energy division of state-owned PPC, has kicked off a tender for a 550 MW subsidy-free solar plant at a former lignite mine.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince traveled to the Greek capital of Athens this week, representing his first official trip to Europe since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. His visit was marked by the signing of several agreements between the two countries and some big statements issued by the Saudi leader regarding green energies and hydrogen.